Part 1 : I’m Going To Do It Naturally!

When I got pregnant for the first time, my husband and I were thrilled and scared. We thought we could even pinpoint the night it happened. We had decided a few weeks before that it was time to start a family, and I had gone off the pill. The doctors told us it would probably take a few months before anything happened and my body would have to adjust to being off the hormones. I was worried, since my best friend had tried to get pregnant for a few years and finally ended up getting in vitro fertilization to have children. We weren’t getting any younger – we were already in our early 30s.

I picked up a cute pink satin bunny outfit. Cute little tail, satin gloves, pink heels, and fluffy long white ears. We (pardon the expression) fucked like rabbits that night, before my husband had to go back to graveyard shifts and our sex would become much more sporadic.

I was expecting my period just two weeks later, and I was a day late. I rushed out and bought a pregnancy test, ran home, and did the test. I almost passed out. Lo and behold, it said I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it! I called the doctor and set up an appointment for the very next day. Surely the home test was wrong!

But, it wasn’t. The doctor confirmed I was pregnant. I have never been so excited and terrified in my life. That night I dressed up and told my husband. I had wanted to do something clever. Once on a television show, the wife told her husband by serving him a meal of baby peas, baby carrots, and baby back ribs. But in the end, as we lay there after sex, I asked him what he thought about March 4th. It took him a minute, and then he hugged me tight. We were going to have a baby!

The time went by quickly. I was pregnant in the winter, which was wonderful. I was so hot all the time, I felt like a miniature furnace. In snow and 20 degree weather, shorts and a t-shirt felt just fine. My poor husband was being frozen out of the house – I think I kept the heat down to 60 so I’d sweat less. Maternity shorts and jeans were, I discovered, the best thing ever. My stomach was so big, it was unreal. And the baby kicked a lot. We would lie together in bed and just feel the kicks at night. It’s so hard to describe the feeling of having a life growing inside you.

I had strange cravings as well. My husband swore that I’d be eating pickles. But what I craved more than anything were red pears and Lay’s potato chips. I could eat them all day long!

I was lucky that I didn’t have morning sickness too much. I’d have a day or two of being nauseous, and then a week where I’d be fine.

We continued to have great sex. My husband was a bit gentler than usual, and we found that doggie style was the most comfortable. This was especially true as the time got closer and my stomach grew bigger and bigger.

As I got closer, although still a few months away, we discussed how I would deliver. I wanted more than anything to have a natural childbirth. No drugs, no surgery, everything natural. So we signed up for La Maz classes. Every week for 2-3 hours, we met with a nurse at the hospital with about 10 other couples and learned about breathing techniques, exercises (including perineal massage), and what the birthing process would be like.

It scared me a bit. What really got to me one night was when we watched a birthing video. The woman on the video actually gave birth! Afterwards, I ran to the bathroom.
I don’t know what I had been expecting, but it wasn’t at all like I’d imagined. The other women in my class were in the bathroom as well, and we were all freaked out. I was wondering what my husband thought!

The funny thing was, the guys all thought it was incredible and cool. That honestly amazed me, but it was great to know that my husband wasn’t as freaked out by it as I was.

The time was getting closer and closer. I was so big I was having trouble wearing anything! My husband was sure I was going to have a boy by the way I was carrying so high. I really wanted a boy, but more than anything I wanted a healthy baby.

I was also starting to wonder how accurate the date was that the doctor gave us. March 4th sounded good, but what if the baby came early? This was 2000, and there was a good possibility that I’d give birth a few days early. Would February 29th be a good day? It would be unique, but I wasn’t so sure.

On Friday, February 25, when I left work, one of my colleagues said, “See you on Monday!” “With any luck, no,” I said. I was tired, and really ready to have this baby.

A friend took me to dinner at McDonald’s for a Filet-o-Fish, and I couldn’t fit into the booth to eat. Yes, I was really ready….